Why It Could Not Have Been ‘THE PANDAVA LUNGI HARAN’?
The increasing Crime rate against women has created a deadly fright in the minds and souls of every person related to a girl. We question the clothes she wears, the way she carries herself and the mindset of the people she goes out with. The easiest is to put a big question mark on the inefficient governance and thus, a full stop to the whereabouts of the entire case. What we don’t realize is, that the root of the crimes was embedded way back during the time when there used to be a visually impaired ruler of the country accompanied by his blindfolded wife. The time when Arjuna’s arrow and Yushishthira’s way of justice was the much hyped talk of the town. The time when Shakuni was the mastermind, Lord Krishna the ultimate controller, and the great war of Mahabharata the answer to all apprehensions. No, I don’t have any authority to question this great legend (and trust me, I won’t). But, I like to think that a little twist here and slight change of events over there would have done wonders to the situation we have today. SCENE: The Rajyasabha of Hastinapur. The Kaurava’s headed by the famous Mama Bhanja. The throne headed by Dhritrashtra, who is surrounded by people considered to be the epitome of wisdom till date. The bhanja orders his folk to undress his sister in law in front of the entire crowd. Right there. Pause!
Now, the question here is that if it were really a patriarchal system back then, then why on earth was Draupadi dragged amid the entire prospect? Why could it not have been Arjuna’s Lungi Haran instead of the Draupadi Cheer Haran? It would have caused the same level of dishonor, bore the same seeds of revenge and created the same aggression, same injustice as it did anyway. However, setting up of atleast one less example of crime against women from the past would have eased out the situation we have today to great extents. Who knows, we might have had a society, where men cooked roti’s while the woman of the house earned for the family. There might have been a time when it were the men carrying a pepper spray in their wallets and the dailies flooded with news of men getting gang raped in moving cars and buses.
We certainly can’t amend the legendary tale of Mahabharata to suit our requirements. What we can do, is be just and thoughtful of the decisions we take for the populace. It’s better to bring about a change when we still have time. Because, if the right moment’s gone, it will lead to a Mahabharata part 2 very soon, and this time, let me tell, rather warn you, that it might be the women folk who gets to enjoy the Lungi Dance!
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About the Author: This article is contributed by Bhavya Poddar, our Intern.
